Following the acquisition of 12 Rafale from the French Air and Space Force in November 2021, the first six Rafale of the Croatian Air Force - Hrvatskoratno zrakoplovstvo i protuzračna obrana (HRZ i PZO) - operated by its pilots trained in France, arrived Thursday at the 91 operational base, near Zagreb.

The fighter jets were welcomed by the President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanović, the Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and the Minister of Defense Ivan Anušić, during a ceremony.

Coming from the Dassault Aviation site in Mérignac, these six Rafale will join the 191 Squadron of the Croatian Air Force. The next Rafale will arrive from the end of 2024, to form a complete squadron by mid-2025.

“The mastery with which the Croatian Air Force carried out this first ferry testifies to the excellence of its pilots and personnel, and brilliantly illustrates the quality of Croatia’s cooperation with France. Dassault Aviation is fully committed to completing the full integration and logistic support of the Rafale into the Croatian Air Force, which will contribute to ensuring Croatia’s sovereignty and enable it to successfully carry out its operational missions within NATO,” declared Éric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation.

With over 10,000 military and civil aircraft (including 2,700 Falcons) delivered in more than 90 countries over the last century, Dassault Aviation has built up expertise recognized worldwide in the design, development, sale and support of all types of aircraft, ranging from the Rafale fighter, to the high-end Falcon family of business jets, military drones and space systems.

In 2023, Dassault Aviation reported revenues of €4.8 billion. The company has 13,500 employees.